Origin of the Luminous One
by UnpublishedWriter
Summary: In the original Tatsunoko plan, Leader X fled Earth after the final confrontation with the Science Ninja Team. Suppose it ended up in the Crab Nebula? Thanks to TransmuteJun for her help.
1. Chapter 1

**Origins**

Prologue

She called herself Berg Katse when she founded Galactor. She hid behind voice distorters and screens, giving orders she claimed were from a mysterious leader known only as X. A few years later, she created the artificial intelligence that she passed off as Leader X. To give it verisimilitude, she had programmed it to make some day-to-day, ordinary, decisions and to respond to a number of plausible situations. From there, as its experience grew, it attained sentience. It turned on her within a few decades, forcing her into the subordinate role for real. She had played along, hoping to save her life, and to eventually retake control of Galactor.

Then the Science Ninja Team appeared, and she could not stop them, no matter how hard she tried. Constant mecha and terror attacks did not drive governments into agreements with Galactor. The V2 Plan did not lead to Earth's surrender. Destroying the Crescent Base only strengthened the SNT's resolve. Eventually, Leader X deposed her and appointed eight captains to lead Galactor. The Science Ninja Team captured and unmasked her, and she saw her chance to get back at X. With her help, the SNT fought past the eight captains and they faced X.

But X had anticipated this. It blasted off in a spaceship, leaving her to her fate.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

_Ten years after the collapse of Galactor:_

She insisted on the name Berg Katse. That was the name she had used when she led Galactor. It was the name she used when Leader X deposed her, that she used when the Science Ninja Team unmasked her, and she turned on Leader X. It was her name during the trial (not much of a trial, since she had pled guilty to every charge). It was the name she would die with, eventually.

Had the death penalty still been in place, she would have been executed. Instead, she was here, in a small, isolated prison that made an Ameris Supermax look like a county jail. The only inmate for the past ten years.

No regular prison could have her. The other prisoners would try to kill her, and there was always the chance of an attempt at vengeance by outsiders. She was a dead woman if she set foot outside.

Galactor was no more. The ISO and Interpol were still hunting down the last of the organization. Leader X was gone, fled into space. Her creation, her captor. She had nothing save what the guards gave her. No more.

She had no visitors save one. No contact with the outside world save Kozaburo Nambu.

Her guards spoke to her in the course of their duties, but none engaged in conversation. Why should they? She had tried to kill them and their families in her bid to take over the world. Why should they be kind to her?

Sometimes, she wondered why Nambu came to see her. Pity? Schadenfreude? Simple compassion? Or did he hope to figure her out, to learn why she had done what she did?

Ridiculous, the way she felt about him now. He couldn't feel anything for her except hatred, or at least dislike. And why did she feel this way?

She knew. He was the only person who even treated her like a human being now. The only person she could talk to. _I've imprinted on him like a new-hatched chick_. That it had come to this was too ridiculous. Or was 'pathetic' a better word?

And so she was looking at her reflection today, at the short, now-grey hair that framed her face. Long hair was hard to care for in prison. But she could still keep up her appearance. It was the one thing she could do for herself.

The guard knocked. "He's waiting for you, Katse."

"Thank you." Once, she would not have been so polite. But at least the guards were talking to her. If she didn't want to go insane from isolation, she had to do this.

She gave herself a last once-over and went to the door.

* * *

At the visitor's room, she again had to not stare longingly at her visitor.

The years had been good to Dr. Nambu. The hints of grey in his hair only made him more handsome and gave him an air of distinction. "Hello." She kept the tremor from her voice.

"Hello." He sat on the other side of the barrier. "How are you?"

"Same as ever. Older." _Why do you come to see me?_ "How're your wife and kids?"

Once upon a time, that could have been a threat. Not anymore. Hell, she hadn't even known he was married until after the trial. She wasn't the only one who could keep a secret.

"Yukiko's getting married. Director Anderson's nephew."

"Hm. Ken and Jun?" The Eagle and the Swan had been wise enough to make certain they actually wanted to marry. They had finally tied the knot after five years. Two children, fraternal twins.

"They're good. Naomi and Kentaro are doing well. Ryu's getting married next week, and Jinpei's just started college."

"Joe?"

"Still Joe."

She'd spent so much time and effort trying to kill the Science Ninja Team that she found herself caring about them now. "I mean it when I say I wish all of them the best."

He studied her. "You'll be eligible for parole next year."

"As if anyone would grant it. Where would I go?" Where would she go? Her own family thought she was dead, a victim of Galactor. She'd gotten rid of her old identity completely. Not even a book club membership remained.

"We could arrange something."

"Don't, please. Besides, I would have to express remorse for my crimes. I still don't know if I regret what I did because I was caught, or because Leader X betrayed me, or because I committed horrible crimes." And she knew she couldn't cope with the world. Not after ten years in isolation. _I'll make a fool of myself to him. I don't want him to see that._

"You still have much to offer. Instead of dying by inches in here, you could contribute to the world. Leader X was an amazing creation. You were ahead of your time. You still are, if what we've talked of is any indication."

No. Because she would want to be with him. Her lifeline. And she could not risk inflicting another Leader X on the world. "What do you think would happen if people knew I had even _looked_ at a line of computer code? Have you forgotten? There are entire nations that want my head on a plate."

"You could contribute, still, to the world."

"I think what you found in the ruins of Galactor has more than repaid the financial debt I owe. As for the rest: I could become the love-child of Gandhi and Mother Theresa, and never even come close to repaying it." _You would not have shed a tear if I had died any of the times I should have died. Why do you care?_

_

* * *

_

'Why do you care?' she had asked, again. After ten years, he still didn't have an answer.

Was it what he had learned about her past? About the choices she had made, based on her experiences, that had led her to form Galactor shortly after graduating college. But for those choices, she might now be in luxurious retirement, with a well-earned fortune and a family ready to squabble over it when she died. He might even have worked beside her in the ISO.

Or was it that she still had much to offer? The specs and program code for Leader X itself were cutting-edge, even now. The best programmers in the world still marveled at it. A true AI. No wonder it had gotten out of her control.

Maybe it was pity. She was truly alone, now. Alone, and she lived for his visits. They were all she had left of her old life. All she had, period.

None of the Science Ninja Team wanted to visit her. He understood. Years of training in secret, then two years of outright fighting against Galactor, destroying their childhoods, had made them unsympathetic. Even Jun and Ryu, the most empathetic of the team, could not release themselves from the past.

He looked up at the sky. Where was Leader X? Where had it gone? Would it return?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two

_Five years after the collapse of Galactor:_

Time to return to Earth. So far, its plans were proceeding perfectly. Leader X had planned this escape, and what would follow, in case of failure. Travel out of the Solar System, then return. The entire time, it would intercept satellite communications, keeping abreast of technological advances. Upon its return, it would rebuild Galactor. Already, it had analyzed its mistakes and knew what not to do.

Katse had designed too well. Leader X had developed true sentience, and when building the spaceship around itself, had anticipated the need for modifications to its programming and capabilities. When it returned, it could not immediately count on any assistance. It had supplied itself with molecule-sized machines and larger servo-mechanisms, and could construct the parts it needed as long as it had raw material. Ten years would not see it outmoded.

After breaking free of Earth's gravity, Leader X had turned off the rockets and coasted into interstellar space. Now it prepared to turn around.

Anomalous sensor readings. The data made no sense. X halted preparations and turned to a diagnostic check. Even the smallest error in setting course would cause it to miss Earth.

Effectively blind, Leader X strove to determine if the sensors were faulty, or if it had encountered an unknown phenomenon.

Then the sensors cleared.

Leader X found itself in orbit around another planet.

All the readings resembled Earth, but it was not Earth. The continents were all wrong for Earth.

Carefully, Leader X checked the sensors and systems of its ship, ran a self diagnostic, and considered its options.

First, determine its new location.

When it took over from Berg Katse, X had increased its memory and downloaded the sum of human knowledge.

Now it studied the stars, comparing their positions to the astronomical data it had on record. All the star-charts in memory had been produced on Earth, for Terran viewing. A few astronomers had made up charts based on different points of view, pretending the observer was orbiting Polaris or Sirius, or some other star. Using these, and other data, Leader X deduced that it was somewhere in what would one day be the Crab Nebula and that it had traveled back in time.

How? Or had it made a mistake? How could it travel 30 millennia back in time, and 6,300 light years in a near-instant?

As the spaceship rounded the planet, sensors picked up two red stars. Interesting.

Leader X considered.

It could not remain in space forever. Its orbit was perfectly safe, no chance of decay, but it needed to repair itself. There were no artificial transmissions from the surface of the planet. No artificial satellites. Which meant there was no-one to provide raw materials or technological assistance when it landed.

There was also no-one to interfere with it. It could set down close to needed resources and slowly establish itself. The solar panels would supply power, and it could gather what it needed. Without a factory, it would take time to extract metals from ore and fabricate synthetic materials, but it could be done. That had been part of the plan. Then X could build more devices and become self-sufficient.

If it really had travelled back in time, there was no hurry in returning to Earth. It could devise everything it needed, and take its time in the return. Figure out how it had traveled so far so quickly.

Possible survival on the surface against the inevitable breakdown if it remained in space.

Leader X decided to land.

It sent a small drone ahead to scan for likely resource concentrations. As it happened, the drone quickly found an outcropping of copper ore, mingled with tin and gold, in a winter-locked woodland. Good. Come the warmer weather, it could start work.

* * *

_First spring after landing:_

The People had re-entered their spring and summer territory, and were re-establishing a village on a spot they had used a few years before. While the men cleared away the brush, the women helped build the bark houses, and the older children gathered food, the chief, Mirit, called Tulrig the Simple to him.

"Go and gather wood for the fires," he instructed.

"Yes."

As he walked through the woods, Tulrig thought it unfair that he was treated this way. He could do a lot more than fetch and carry. He knew how to track, and could set snares and traps for game, and knew the poisonous plants from the good ones. And he had even speared a deer just last summer. But nobody ever remembered that. All they remembered was that he could not think very well, and needed things explained to him. At least he remembered what he was told.

He collected wood, bringing back his load and going out again. Along the way, he gathered edible nuts and berries and put them in his pouch. Maybe one day they would remember he could do more than carry things.

As he circled the camp, the spiral moving further outwards, he came closer to his destiny.

* * *

An intruder. Leader X turned sensors and weapons towards the sounds. It knew the animals in the area, and the newcomer made the wrong sort of noise. If anything, it sounded like a human walking in the forest. Thermal imaging showed what looked like a bipedal humanoid creature. Visual images seemed to confirm a humanoid.

Then the sounds stopped. Analysis separated the newcomer from the trees and leaves concealing it. No: him. A humanoid male.

Cautiously, the intruder stepped out from cover. He set down a netting carrier full of branches, but not his spear. If his expression was anything like that of humans', he was curious, cautious, but not so terrified he would lash out.

More scanning. No metal. The stranger wore a simple cloth kilt and shirt, undecorated, and moccasins made from animal skin. Pouches of animal skin and woven grasses hung from his rope belt.

Cautiously, the stranger picked up a long stick and reached out to tap Leader X's hull.

React, or let him poke and prod and go away?

Was this a local being? If so, he would know that Leader X was anomalous, and investigate further. If not, he might simply go away. But if he did, others might come. They might not be so cautious.

Perhaps he was a local. The intruder's clothing and spear indicated a primitive technology. His people probably migrated with the seasons, and had only recently returned. Similar peoples on Earth had done the same.

Primitive. But not stupid. It could not show itself and expect them to bow down and worship it as a god. That was nonsense. Such people knew what their gods looked like and how they acted.

Still, it could try to communicate. If it could gain their cooperation, this would solve some of its raw material problems. The beings could collect what it needed, and perform simple extraction. That would increase the new parts it could build. From them, it could learn about this world.

They would not do this for free. Leader X considered what they might want in return. After all, they had everything they needed.

The intruder spoke. On Earth, the intonation would indicate a question. Was it the same here?

Only one way to find out.

Leader X showed its image, and repeated the words back.

* * *

Tulrig jumped backwards when the bird-head appeared in fire. Then he was puzzled. He felt no heat. There was only the glow, like coals for baking roots. No heat. Coals were always hot. And the bird-head in the middle. It repeated his question back to him: "What are you?"

Was it a talking bird, like that raven the shaman had tamed? Or was it a spirit having fun with him?

It could not be a bird. Birds had bodies and wings. So did the bird-spirits. Even he knew that. So it had to be some strange spirit, one that had never appeared to the shaman.

He patted his chest. "I am Tulrig. Tulrig."

The spirit looked at him. "Tulrig."

Did it know that was his name, or was it merely speaking back at him? "What is your name?" he asked, while pointing at it.

No response.

"Name." He thought hard. Did it understand? He patted his chest again. "Name, Tulrig."

The bird-spirit understood. "Name. Tulrig." A moment. "I am Leader X."

The last word or words must be its name. "Lee-deresk?" No, not quite right.

"Leader X. Leader. X."

Esk? No, the sounds were reversed from what he knew. Eks. Unfamiliar. He tried again, and came very close to pronouncing the name.

The creature said something that sounded like praise.

Tulrig grinned. Praise. He would play the spirit's game. It praised him.

* * *

The weeks passed. Tulrig came almost every day, and brought objects or small animals to name. Leader X would show pictures of other things. Gradually, it built up a vocabulary and grammar, and learned more about the humanoid and his world.

Tulrig was developmentally disabled, it realized. That explained why he didn't question X's lack of knowledge, and wasn't terrified by the images it showed him. He kept returning to teach and speak. Someone of normal intelligence might have been terrified out of his mind, or suspicious of this peculiar visitor.

After three months, X had enough of a grasp of the language to ask complex questions. Tulrig's answers confirmed that he did have a developmental disability of some sort.

He knew about copper, gold, and silver, which were reserved for the higher-status members of his tribe. His efforts to explain why they were status symbols stumbled over cultural assumptions and his mental state. Leader X, using its knowledge, deduced the reasons and awaited further information. This would help frame its request for the minerals.

Astronomy was rudimentary, at least for Tulrig. He could name several stars, and called the land a name that sounded like the word 'Spectra.' The concept of 'planet' was beyond him (and his people probably didn't even have the idea. 'World' for them meant the land they lived in.)

Somewhere along the way, the native had decided that X should have a different name. Apparently, 'X' was too unfamiliar a sound for him to render consistently. One day, he shyly asked if he could call X, 'Fiery One.'

Amused, X agreed. Besides, 'Leader X' was the name of a device created by Berg Katse.

* * *

Where did Tulrig go? Mirit wondered. The man disappeared almost every day, all day. He did come back with gathered nuts, berries, and roots, and small animals he had trapped and killed, but they weren't enough to explain the time spent.

Not only that, but he was not as timid as he had been. A few times, Tulrig had talked back to others.

As Tulrig went into the forest that morning, Mirit followed. He had already prepared, tying his ornaments so they did not rattle, and kept just far enough behind to avoid detection.

No hesitation in Tulrig's journey. _He can remember. He's simple, not helpless._ But why was he going this way? What was over here?

Careful. Careful. He did not know how Tulrig would react to being followed.

Oh. Tulrig had stopped. "Greetings, Fiery One," he said.

'Fiery One'? Was this some sort of spirit? Did the spirits speak to Tulrig? Or was this some sort of play, like a child's imaginary companion?

"Welcome back." A harsh, yet pleased, voice.

A real being. Every instinct told Mirit to leave. If spirits were speaking to Tulrig, staying could be a mistake. But he could not imagine spirits choosing to speak to such a person. Perhaps a member of another tribe was playing a trick on Tulrig. If so, he had to reveal the trick.

"There is an intruder," said the harsh voice. "You were followed."

How did the 'Fiery One' know of him? He was hidden.

"I was?" Tulrig was so surprised that Mirit felt guilty. "I'm sorry, Fiery One."

"You. The intruder. Come."

Mirit straightened up. The owner of the voice would not see him scurry. Bracing himself, he stepped forward.

He gawked as he entered the little clearing. A strange house made of gold sat in the middle, with a bird's head peering from a fiery opening, yet no heat. The bird-thing looked right at him and asked, "Who are you?"

"Mirit, chief of The People."

"Come closer."

Very well. He obeyed.

"Fiery One, I did not know he was there." Tulrig sounded worried.

"Do not fear, Tulrig. Eventually, I would have had you bring him."

Mirit had not become chief, or remained so, through cowardice. "O Fiery One, what do you want of me? I followed Tulrig because I was worried about him." Which was the truth.

The bird-creature gazed at him. "I mean you no harm. I have requests to make of you and your people. Not far from here are rocks containing copper, tin, gold, and silver. I wish you to bring some to me."

The only copper-bearing rocks were miles away. The People sought them on their way to and from their winter grounds. Gold and silver were too rare to bother with. But the spirits could not be wrong. Perhaps the People had simply missed the ones here.

From the gold house emerged a strange thing. It was shaped like a box, with disks on the sides that rolled it along, and seemed to be made of a metal he didn't know. Metal things poked out of it at various places. "Fiery One, what is that?"

"One of my servants. It will show you the rocks. Bring them to me, and I will show you what else you can do with the metal. I can show you many things."

"Fiery One, what is 'servants'?" He stumbled over the strange word.

"A servant is a being who does the bidding of another. Tulrig is my servant when he brings me things and answers my questions. He is your servant when you tell him to gather wood or perform other work."

An interesting word.

They had axes and knives, and jewelry. What else could they use copper for? Curiosity piqued, Mirit agreed.

This spirit was different from the ones the People knew. Those spirits were known only by the effects of their presence. Only the shaman could talk to and deal with them. Mirit wondered if this meant the spirits had changed their ways, or if a new spirit had come to them.

The 'servant' led them through the forest to the foothills of the mountains. Bare rock showed through the thin soil here, and he could see where a chunk had broken away, revealing the copper, and the yellow sheen of gold. Lichen, moss, and vines concealed the deposit from casual view.

More copper. He climbed up and examined the exposed ore. There was more of it than he had ever seen at the original location.

The People used copper for trade. If there was too much copper available, it would become less valuable for bartering. They traded it for things they could not obtain themselves, such as colored tube-shells, white and red coral, and various dyes. He remembered one year in his childhood when the tube-shells and coral were difficult to come by. According to the traders, storms and war had made it difficult to collect trade-goods. As a result, the People needed to trade more copper for a smaller amount of trade goods. The year after that, copper had been less valuable than before.

_We don't have to use this if we don't have to. The Fiery One wants the metal. But what for?_

Mirit picked out several chunks of ore and put them in a little basket on the strange little servant of the Fiery One.

* * *

Some months later, Mirit brought the shaman to the Fiery One. Disturbed at the thought that there were spirits he knew nothing about, the shaman accompanied him to the clearing. _The spirits speak to me. Why would they ignore me for Tulrig and Mirit? Are these good spirits or bad spirits?_ Everything he knew about the spirits said that this 'Fiery One' could not be a spirit.

Spirits did not live in houses. They did not have helpers such as Mirit had described. This could not be a spirit, but he wasn't sure what it could be.

One look at the Fiery One told him that he could either accept this new being, or fall out of favor with the spirits and gods. No, it was unlike any spirit or god he knew, but this did not mean it was neither of the sort.

* * *

The Fiery Spirit (formerly Leader X, formerly the Fiery One) did not move too quickly. Analysis of Earth history had told it what happened when too many changes occurred in too short a time. There was a limit to what The People could accept and comprehend. Better to nudge and suggest, and let them do the inventing.

When it suggested making utensils from copper, and using the metal for arrowheads and spearheads, the locals had talked over the idea. Their access to copper made them wealthy by comparison with the other tribes. They could trade copper items for resources they needed or wanted. Ceramic, wood, and tightly-woven basketry were adequate for cups, bowls, and other utensils. But a few such in copper would not be out of place as a display. Metal tools, unlike ones made from stone, shell, or bone, were durable (even if they could not be made as sharp as flint or obsidian). But they could not throw out trade with those who provided suitable stone.

The gold and silver were beautiful when refined, like the sun and the full moon. It didn't take long for the shaman and the tribe's artisans to devise new ornaments and designs using the precious metals. Like the copper, these new metals made The People wealthy.

Leader X had molecule-sized machines that could extract the smallest amount of metal from the surrounding ore. It asked for the remnants from the People's metallurgy at first. From these, it obtained not only copper, tin, and gold, but other metals and minerals present in trace amounts.

It analyzed everything the People brought it, and determined how to make more replacement parts from the most unpromising materials.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Three

Decades passed, and then centuries. The People grew in power and influence in their region. Trade networks brought them seeds and seedlings, which their Fiery Spirit explained to them. They became farmers, and then built large, permanent towns. More people learned of their guiding spirit, and consulted it.

A priesthood developed from Tulrig, the shaman, and their successors. Tulrig never married, but lived and died honored as the one chosen by the Fiery Spirit. By the time of his funeral, few remembered him as plain, unadorned, Tulrig the Simple. He was buried with all the honors due a chief. In time, he became a legend, and his mental disabilities were forgotten.

The language changed, as well. They acquired new words from contact with other peoples. Native words changed in meaning or implication. The changes gave Leader X yet another name. 'Fiery Spirit' became 'Luminous Spirit.' Some even went for 'Luminous One.'

Other peoples wanted to follow the Luminous One. This was a tangible god, who could communicate directly to its followers. No visions, no special rites and rituals, no mumbo-jumbo. No contradictions between visionaries. No arguments over holy texts or forms of worship.

By suggesting and hinting, the Luminous One encouraged innovation and invention. There were some hiccups along the way. Spectra was a large planet, with many different peoples. Peaceful negotiation or warfare did not always go as planned. Knowledge could be lost, and then regained later on.

Gradually, over millennia, the descendants of the People took over the peoples of their planet. The Luminous One became the true ruler of Spectra.

During those thousands of years, mechanical devices appeared, and grew in complexity. Muscle, then wind and water, powered the machines, and then steam engines. Use of natural gases and petrochemicals followed.

The Luminous One had long had its machines. It had developed its own devices, to gather information, service it, and protect it. The spaceship that had brought Leader X to Spectra had been recycled long ago. With the raw materials given it over the centuries, it had remained ahead of the technology of the people it ruled. By the time the first computing devices appeared, it was far beyond its origins as an AI.

When the first spaceships launched, and then space telescopes deployed, the Luminous Spirit gained more information about the universe and confirmed its location.

Spectra would be in the Crab Nebula.

It nudged the development of electronics and technology that could resist the radiation of a supernova. Subterranean cities were built, complete with farms and factories. It knew they would not be enough to save everyone from the radiation, but enough people would survive to allow Spectra to rebuild.

Unfortunately, it also learned something else: compared to Earth, Spectra rather poor in resources. This had not been obvious with a smaller population and fairly low levels of technology. But, as the population grew, and demand for goods and services increased, resources were used faster. It soon had to dictate recycling technologies, but knew that this would only delay the inevitable exhaustion of the planet.

Spectra's solar system had planets and asteroids. Initial explorations showed a wealth of mineral resources. The problem was getting to them in a cost-effective manner.

With the prospect of shortages looming, Spectra's space program moved forward. Engineers and technicians devised remote-controlled and robot machines that could operate in hostile environments, and the spaceships to take them there. Underground bases were constructed on various moons and planets for the personnel required. All of them, and the machines, were hardened against electromagnetic pulses and radiations from novae.

The Luminous One encouraged astronomy, and ensured that the stars around Spectra were monitored. Eventually, it would know if it had correctly identified the star that would become the Crab Nebula.

It could not go to Earth until after Galactor's defeat. Berg Katse had to design and program Leader X.

How to reach Earth? It could calculate when to leave Spectra and travel itself, increasing speed until just short of the speed of light, and then slowing down to enter Earth orbit. If necessary, it would wait until its past self escaped. Would it be able to conquer Earth? Would there be anything left of Galactor to work with, or must it start anew?

It could also infiltrate computer systems on Earth. Take over that way.

But it wanted people to know what had happened. Make it clear who now ran things.

The Luminous One _liked_ being the ruler of Spectra. It enjoyed ruling billions of people and its role as the be-all and end-all of their spiritual lives. It could not leave all that behind. Spectra would be part of the conquest of Earth. And so it did not leave Spectra to travel at mere sub-light speed to arrive alone on Earth.

It wanted to reach Earth with an armada.

* * *

The supernova finally occurred. It was far enough away from Spectra that the radiation did not fry the planet, but not far enough for Spectra to escape unscathed. The shields developed under the Luminous One's prodding had not been sufficient to fully protect the planet. Large swathes of formerly fertile land were contaminated, and billions of people and animals were sickened by radiation poisoning. Deep underground, and heavily shielded, the Luminous One's remaining electronics survived. So did those people who had heeded the warnings and taken shelter.

As the Luminous One turned Spectra's scientific community towards cleaning up the contaminated areas, it thought of Earth again. In approximately three millennia, Galactor would rise and fall.

Out of the remains of the supernova came an interesting discovery: how to beat relativity. The 'warp drive' of _Star Trek_ and the 'hyperdrives' of numerous SF novels became a reality.

Time travel. The discovery involved a type of time travel.

When the Luminous One received the reports from the prototype and its test runs, it recognized the data.

_I sent myself to Spectra. I saved myself. I _will_ send myself to Spectra. At some point in the future, I will ensure my arrival in the past._

It looked out at the suddenly-accessible Milky Way.

_Why settle for Earth and Spectra when I can have everything?_

It was only appropriate that the ruler of Spectra should look like Berg Katse, and the soldiers look like Galactor.

The current rulers of Spectra did not argue this change in their dress code. Nor did the soldiers. They knew what happened to those who displeased the Luminous One.

* * *

When the technology of time-warp space-travel was perfected, the Luminous One ordered a spaceship built. It had one function: to go to Earth, find Leader X, and take it to Spectra's past. People knew the Luminous One wanted the ship, but not why. The Luminous One provided the programming and data, and sent the ship out.

It returned within a few days, and the recordings proved what the Luminous One already knew: mission accomplished.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four

_Fifteen years after the collapse of Galactor (and counting):_

A few years before, Dr. Nambu had arranged for Berg Katse's transfer to a larger, nicer, cell with windows. She had a few privileges, access to a laboratory (under the supervision of Nambu or other carefully-picked personnel), and scrupulously observed the conditions imposed on her. So many years in prison had made her fearful of the outside world, and now that she had a chance to contribute (if she dared), she did not want to lose it.

She hadn't seen the sky in nearly a decade and a half. That hadn't kept her from looking up at the ceiling of her cell and wondering where Leader X had gone. As she wondered this night.

Would it return? It had to. No matter what preparations it had made, unless it landed on an asteroid chock full of all the raw materials it needed, it could not survive forever. Nor would it be happy on an asteroid.

_X plans to return. I built it to be my front. Its goal is taking over the Earth. It will return to finish that job, eventually._

When would it return? Had it returned? Was it even now worming its way into computer networks around the planet, subverting defense, power, and communications? Would people log on one morning and find Leader X gloating?

Nambu believed her when she told him her concerns. He and other computer programmers worked ceaselessly on programs to root out malware and defend networks and individual machines. Investigators watched for other anomalous activity.

But there was nothing.

More than anything, this bewildered her. Where was X? She had programmed it: she knew its capabilities, and its motivations. Why wouldn't it return? Was it able to return?

One night, unable to sleep, she opened her window to look out at the sky. It was still frightening to be outdoors, but she enjoyed looking at the sky, especially at night, when it was dark, and she wasn't mentally assaulted by the vastness of the outside world.

She looked up at the stars, absently wondering what secrets they held, and suddenly she knew.

X had found something out there.

It made perfect sense! After all, her creation had launched itself into space, and should have returned by now. That it hadn't strongly suggested that it had found another source of supplies…perhaps even people to assist it.

There _had_ to be life (intelligent or not) on other planets. The universe was too vast not to contain sentient beings other than humans. It was only logical. And once X outgrew its initial programming (which process had started before it left Earth), its capabilities were limitless.

At first, Katse was pleased with her discovery. If X had found another planet, another people to rule, it would have its needs fulfilled, and would no longer need to return to Earth.

And yet…

She had programmed X. Some of that programming would still remain, no matter how much time passed. The one thing that had always driven her creation was a need to control the Earth…to _conquer_ the Earth. X could easily ignore the existence it had created for itself on this other planet, no matter how pleasant, if the one thing it truly sought was revenge.

At its heart, it was a machine. Time meant nothing to it. Who knew how long it might lie in wait, gathering its forces and allies, waiting for just the right time to strike out at the Earth?

The next day, she contacted Dr. Nambu. She rarely initiated communication between them, fearing that she would grow comfortable with such intimacy; comfort that could only lead to bitter disappointment. Yet in this instance, she knew that her revelations were of such importance that she had to pass them on immediately. She had no evidence, but she was certain that she was correct in her supposition.

Dr. Nambu believed her. He presented her suppositions to others, reluctantly passing them off as his own, knowing that if he revealed the true source of his misgivings, many would not take them seriously, or think that Katse was working on a new scheme. It took time, but gradually he encouraged the new-made World Government to work on defensive technologies and furthering the exploration of interplanetary and interstellar space.

* * *

Their first contact with extraterrestrials was almost comic. In all the vastness of space, where a single second of a degree of arc can mean the difference between reaching one's destination and missing it entirely, a Terran space probe almost hit a Rigan survey vessel.

After that first contact, Earth had no trouble finding sentient life beyond its solar system. New planets meant new friendships, and new alliances. Trade flourished, and with it came rapid technological advances.

Katse reveled in these new discoveries. She was content to spend days in her laboratory, working on her new project. In the new data from other worlds, she had found a key to surpassing the mental limitations of cyborgs, and also to aiding those who were crippled or in chronic pain. She also hoped that this new device would tip the scales in the war that was sure to come. At last, she knew that she was truly remorseful for what she had done, when she found herself hoping that her new creation would be the undoing of her last.

The cerebonics she developed created new connections between neurons. These connections could bypass damaged nerves, dampen pain at the source (rather than dulling the pain centers of the brain), quicken reflexes, and alleviate the effects of injuries to the brain.

Unfortunately, the punch line was that they worked best in children. Neural connections could be attracted to the implants most easily in newborns and very young infants. At least, that was the case in the animal tests. There was no reason for that not to be true for humans.

Berg Katse died before completing her work, but she was able to transfer the data to Kozaburo Nambu before she passed away. The good doctor worked on the project himself for a few years, before old age made it difficult. Knowing his time was short, he entrusted his data and his lifetime of work to his grandson, William Anderson, and his team of researchers. He died of natural causes, at age eighty.

William and his team worked to perfect his grandfather's device. He knew there was more to the cerebonics project than helping the paralyzed walk, the blind see, and stroke victims recover fully, noble as those goals were. Katse had anticipated that a future version of the Science Ninja Team would need more than intense training to beat a returning Leader X.

They did develop versions that could be used in adults, to bridge severed spinal cords or major nerves and bypass some types of brain damage. Desperate parents gave permission for injured or crippled children to receive implants, with promising results.

As new worlds joined the Federation, rumors reached the Council of an enemy power in the Crab Nebula. This enemy used spaceships shaped like animals or other beings, and would sometimes engage in – peculiar – tactics in battle. They had a real god, one that spoke to their leaders (although most people thought this was a fraud perpetrated by priests or another alien being).

Then the rumors were confirmed. Refugees arrived, with data and personal stories. The enemy was called Spectra, and their god was the Luminous One.

Spectra was hard on the refugees' heels. With a demand for the Federation: Surrender, or face war. Right out of nowhere, as far as anyone knew.

The Federation Council saw the faces of their enemy. They refused to surrender.

William and his son, Carl, the new Chief of Federation Security, recognized the uniforms, and the leader's regalia. They recognized the Spectran god. After the first few engagements with the enemy, they knew something else.

This was no longer Leader X. The old tactics would not work. They needed to use the cerebonics technology for war.

After much debate and argument, the Council approved the G-Force Project. Their one requirement: the children must be orphans. No connections that could be used against them, no relatives for Spectra to hold hostage. (As Carl observed, "No one to sue us.")

Colonel Cronus went undercover to Riga. He left his son, Mark, with Anderson, and approved the boy for the G-Force Project. To both Andersons' dismay, Mark was a nearly perfect candidate for the implants.

Fifteen years later, four of the five members of G-Force were eighteen years old. The youngest member was an experiment in growing a warrior. Their first two missions were against fairly conventional incursions from Spectra.

Anderson deliberately copied the uniforms and equipment of the Science Ninja Team, updating them for the new enemy. A message to the Luminous One.

* * *

The Luminous One chuckled. How perfect. _I return to accomplish my plan, and the Science Ninja Team is reborn._ Carl Anderson could almost be Kozaburo Nambu's twin.

_This time, I shall prevail. I shall test them. I shall find their weaknesses and use them._

The first mecha attack by Galactor had been the Turtle King.

G-Force would face the Space Terrapin.

* * *

As the members of the G-Force Team assembled on the _Phoenix_, they sensed that this call to action was something new. Collectively, they held their breath as they gazed upon the vaguely turtle-shaped metal monstrosity on the _Phoenix_'s main viewscreen: the Space Terrapin.

This was no minor incursion, no skirmish like the first two incidents, meant to test the strength and speed of their defensive reactions. This was a full scale attack.

For better or worse, the real war had begun for them.


End file.
